Someone to Watch Over Me
by claudiastar
Summary: The moments Remus and Tonks realise they love each other. A fluffy two chapter fic involving bullying bosses, full moons and supportive friends. please review
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I do however own ten pairs of shoes.

Authors note: This is just a little fic I wrote about how Remus and Tonks realise they love each other during the time of Ootp. They're two separate one shots really, but they work as mirror images and they're both equally fluffy. This is Tonk's story. Enjoy and please review.

Someone To Watch Over Me

"_There's a somebody I'm longing to see._

_I hope that he,_

_Turns out to be,_

_Someone who'll watch over me."_

Gershwin, Someone to watch over me

"_Push the door; I'm home at last,_

_And I'm soaking through and through._

_Then you handed me a towel, _

_And all I see is you"_

Dido, Thankyou

Chapter One: Dora has a bad day.

Nymphadora Tonks would always remember clearly the exact moment she had realised she was in love with Remus Lupin. It had been growing on her for a long time, almost ever since she'd met him in fact. She hadn't failed to notice how considerate, understanding and kind he was and they'd grown to be close friends working for the order together, but the moment she realised it had turned into something so much more had felt like a blinding flash of light. She would remember it for ever.

It began as a perfectly ordinary day in late October; well, rather worse that ordinary actually. She woke up with a burning, raging cold. The kind where you can't move or think: you just _ache._ Tonks groaned and pulled the worn and faded blanket which covered her bed over her head, curling up into a ball and closing her eyes against the world. Did she really have to get up, leave the safe warmth of her bed? Perhaps she could just skip work for today? Then, with a feeling of mounting horror, she remembered the huge pile of reports on Sirius Black sightings she had left on her desk in the Aurors' office last night and knew that if she didn't consolidate them and present a report on their findings to Kingsley by the end of the day Rufus Scrimgeour would want to know why. She groaned again (a low, deep and satisfying grumble) and dragged herself, inch by painful inch, out from under the covers. Her nose was itching painfully and she was sure it was tomato red by now as well, just her luck.

Her flat was a complete mess. It had been pretty dark and dingy when she'd moved in and when you added a pile of dirty clothes, discarded issues of the _Daily Prophet,_ a couple of severely dog-eared files from work, mountains of books and the odd empty pizza box (a taste she'd inherited from her father) the result was an over cluttered pigsty that was starting to smell slightly. She really ought to clean up in here, but between work for the Ministry and work for the Order she somehow never had the energy. She'd never been too good with neatness magic. It suddenly flashed across her mind to think what Remus would say if he saw it, probably that it was just like her, an ever changing jumble full of delicious contradictions. She smiled; thinking of Remus generally had that effect on her. Yawning lazily she put a hand up to her mouth, and caught sight of her watch. _Damn_ it was nine thirty already, she was half an hour late, _again._ She had charmed her bedside lamp to ring like an alarm clock but today she had obviously slept through it. She gave a yelp of shock, threw on her black work robes, snatched up her files and dashed out of the flat, tripping over yesterday's daily prophet as she did so. It was raining outside.

Things did not improve when she actually arrived at work. The pile of papers was not the only thing waiting for her at her desk, nor was it the most unpleasant. Rufus Scrimgeour sat in the seat opposite hers, an extremely annoyed expression on his grim, hard featured face, his hair bushed out angrily. Tonks' found her boss intimidating to say the least, not only did he exude authority as if it was a secretion released from his pores, but his hair (which was practically a lions main) gave her the impression that he was liable to roar at her at any moment. Indeed, roaring did seem to constitute the greater part of his conversation with his most junior Auror.

He looked her up and down, took in her appearance (which _was_ rather wild, her bubblegum pink hair was sticking up at odd angles and one shoe was coming off) and raised a disapproving eyebrow. "Well Miss Tonks, I assume there is a reasonable explanation as to your lateness, and your rather, err, _unorthodox_ appearance." He said in a deceptively even voice, though she could detect the undercurrents of rough anger.

"I, err, I overslept sir" she mumbled incoherently, flushing scarlet with shame, as she leant against her desk. She normally adopted a more formal look for work, but this morning she'd left the house in such a flurry that she hadn't had time. Scrimgeour's Stone grey eyes hardened immediately and neck boiled red, a sure sign that he was furious, her stomach squirmed with guilt. Tonks was struck by how different eyes could be, even eyes of the same colour. Remus, for instance, had cloudy grey eyes, but his were always kind and sympathetic, sad sometimes, but never cold.

The roar she had long been expecting finally broke over her, he exploded. "YOU OVERSLEPT!" Scrimgeour bellowed furiously, and outraged tone in his voice. "HAVE YOU ANY IDEA HOW IRRESSPONSIBLE THAT WAS? WHAT IF THERE HAD BEEN AN ATTACK? WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE TOLD THE MINISTER, EH!" here he adopted a high whiny voice she assumed was meant to be an imitation of her. "SORRY SIR, ALL MY COLLEAGUES WERE KILLED BY DARK WIZARDS, AND I WAS **_ASLEEP_**! YOU ARE NOT A MOODY TEENAGER AND THIS IS NOT PLAYSCHOOL. GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER TONKS. NOW!" Tonks simply put her head in her hands in exhaustion and let it wash over her.

Finally when she thought he'd finished she muttered "Sorry sir won't happen again sir" without meeting his eyes. Why did she let Scrimgeour make her like she was about two? Probably because he could sack her if he wanted to, and she was beginning to think he wanted to.

"Yes, well, I should hope not" he grumbled, calmer but not at all satisfied. "Anyway, I came to see if you've finished that report on the rumours of increased werewolf activity in Norfolk I asked for, it's three days overdue already." Tonks blushed guiltily; she had in fact finished the report almost a week ago, but had given it to Remus to study for signs of Voldemort's involvement. He knew enough about werewolf behaviour to judge whether the individuals in question were being co-ordinated from outside. As he had not yet returned it to her, Scrimgeour's question was extremely awkward. She mumbled a lame excuse about being drowned by paperwork on the Black hunt; Sirius did have his uses as a cover at times, but knew Scrimgeour was going to be very irritated. Damn Remus and his obsessive scholars' urge to nitpick and over analyse! "On my Desk tomorrow then Tonks and this really isn't good enough, I know werewolves aren't strictly our department but that's no excuse for slacking." he barked. Then, to her intense relief, he stood up and strode impressively away. For a moment she watched him, eyes burning with the rage she hadn't been able to show. Then she collapsed miserably behind her desk, giving in to despair. The pile of paperwork glared at her accusingly.

She worked all the rest of the morning, slogging through the pile of reported Sirius black sightings. It was all such waste of time, why bother reporting on where people were supposed to have seen him when she knew _exactly_ where he was anyway, and wasn't about to report it to the ministry? Ever since she had joined the Order she had been growing increasingly frustrated and irritable at work. It was the mind-numbing pointlessness of it all that got to her. The ministry had hidden from Voldemort beneath a heap of useless and aggressive bureaucracy. When Tonks had first decided to become an Auror, when she was seventeen, she had been full of idealistic notions about _protecting the community, _now she longed more than anything to be actually out there, doing something to stop him. The ministry's attitude had made that nearly impossible. She found that she was growing disillusioned and embittered, losing her belief in her job. As a result her work was becoming sloppy and thoughtless. It's very difficult to do your best on something you are convinced doesn't matter anyway. She now spent most of her time at the office in a listless stupor. Her work for the Order was when she really came alive. She struggled with the paper work for four hours. Her head began to ache persistently, as if her brain was crying out _please, use me._ Finally, when she was bored she could hardly keep her eyes open; she decided to have a break for lunch. She got up, stretched, and left her desk in its characteristic state of chaos.

The Ministry canteen was already bustling when Tonks entered. She enjoyed the friendly chatter of the ministry staff. Lunch was also a good opportunity to talk to fellow Order members from other departments. She spotted Arthur Weasley at a table in the corner, waved cheerfully and was about to join him when someone took hold of her arm. She turned round to see Stephen Dawlish standing beside her, giving her a wide, greasy grin. She shuddered. "Nymphadora my dear," he drawled "I do hope you'll join me for lunch." There was nothing she'd like to do less. Dawlish, a smooth, greying charmer, and almost twenty years her senior, persisted in making his intentions to towards his young colleague abundantly clear. On top of this he was a fanatical Fudge loyalist. However, he was senior to her, and therefore had the authority to command her attention. She gave Arthur Weasley an apologetic look and moved to follow Dawlish wondering how on earth she was going to get through the whole meal without hexing him.

She sat in stony silence, answering both his sleazy inquiries into her health and his scathing comments about Dumbledore with non committal shrugs. She was full of rage at him for his blindness, full of rage at the whole ministry. As she watched him out of glazed and unfocussed eyes she found her thinking about how unlike Remus he was. _Where had that come from?_ She desperately wanted to get away. All in all lunch was not the relaxing break she had hoped for. She wolfed down a rather depressed looking ham Sandwich in double quick time. Her cold (or was it Dawlish?) had made her feel rather sick. She left as fast as possible with a vague sense of being contaminated.

The afternoon heralded only worse for Tonks. At around four o'clock she finally finished compiling a coordinated account of all the Sirius Black sightings and set off to deliver it to Kingsley Shacklebolt. When she arrived at his office however, she could hear two voices deep in conversation, he was not alone. She recognised the harsh barking voice as Scrimgeour's and soft mellow one as Kingsley's.

"Seriously Shacklebolt, do you think the Tonks child can cut it?" he said, his voice dismissive and sharp. "She's sloppy and careless, always late" he continued. Tonks felt her breath catch in her chest, a sick feeling of fear mixed with fury welling up inside her as she stood outside the door, straining to listen. _This is it_, she thought in a panic, _I'm out._

Kingsley's deep, rich voice cut in. "I think that Nymphadora Tonks is neither incompetent, nor a child. But a brave woman, committed to her job." He spoke steadily, his voice calm, emphasising her name slightly, there was a faint note of reprisal there too. Hearing this Tonks wanted to cheer, her heart leapt with gratefulness. Where had Kingsley learned how to manage Scrimgeour so well? She would be able to remain so calm. Her mother had once told her she had too much passion, and that it was dangerous. She thought now she understood what she meant.

Scrimgeour was still grumbling about her under his breath, she was unable to hear what he was saying. She almost burst with frustration. Finally he raised his voice enough to say clearly "Well, I trust your judgement Shacklebolt, but if she doesn't improve soon, well..." Then he strode out of the office, brushing past her as if she was no more than a fly. Hot angry tears welled up in her eyes. She strode briskly into Kingsley's office, pretending desperately that she was alright. Kingsley looked up and saw her and gave her a quick friendly smile, he didn't seem to notice how shaken she was, which was a blessed relief. She was able to return, shaken but un-interrogated to her desk.

By eight o'clock, the time she usually finished work, she was exhausted, fretful, miserable and slightly feverish. She badly needed a hot drink and an early night. So of course she was on guard duty outside the department of mysteries till midnight. This mainly involved sitting alone in a dark hall way growing steadily more stiff and bored, watching intently as _absolutely nothing_ happened. She knew that it was important, but that didn't make it enjoyable, she was already half dead with tiredness. She passed her four hours growing steadily more cold and achy. It was a struggle to keep her eyes open. She began to feel more than a little frightened and alone. At one point she was almost convinced that Voldemort himself was standing right in front her, laughing before she realised it was only the twisting shadows of the torchlight, which grew ever more malevolent as the night wore on. Finally midnight came and her shift ended. She waited until Arthur Weasley arrived to take over from her before stretching some of the stiffness out of herself and apparating back to Grimmauld Place to make her report.

It was raining when she arrived in Grimmauld Place, heavy driving sheets of rain that blurred her vision and turned the whole world grey under the artificial orange glow of the street lamp. The few moments she was outside were enough to get her soaked to the skin. She began to shiver uncontrollably as she pushed her way into the cluttered hallway. This was all she needed; now she was miserable _and_ wet. All she wanted was to make her report, a simple "all quiet" to whoever had waited up and get back to bed as quickly as possible. She was beginning to think she'd made a mistake in ever leaving her bed today. This is intention was roundly defeated by the unfortunate fact that at this precise moment she tripped over the umbrella stand in the corner, turned head over heals and, clutching at the portrait of Mrs Black for support, managed to rip back the curtain.

Mrs Black began to scream almost instantly. "FOUL SHIFTER" she shrieked, in a voice as coarse and harsh as iron wool "UNNATURAL ABOMINATION. BLOOD TRAITOR." For Tonks, who had landed crumpled and bruised on the floor this was absolutely the last straw. All the misery of the day boiled up inside her, overwhelming, with no way out except through her eyes. She began to cry: choking, gulping, half hysterical sobs, the sobs of the exhausted. She felt worn thin. The screams and her own sobbing pounded round and round in her head, throbbing.

The suddenly she heard a voice, one she'd recognise anywhere, soft warm and slightly frayed at the edges. "Dora, is that you?" he said. Only one person in the world called her Dora. The person she least, or maybe most, wanted to see when she was sobbing her heart out. Remus Lupin. She looked up at him, swollen eyed and runny nosed. His face, calm and friendly, grey eyes full of concern, was like water in the desert. She couldn't say anything. She just put out her arms.

He knelt down beside her and she put her arms round him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Dora, what happened, what's wrong?" he asked urgently, his eyes wide with worry.

"N-Nothing," she stammered through her tears "j-just Scimgeour, and I'm s-sooo tired, and now THAT" she gestured violently towards Mrs blacks portrait which was still cackling crazily. Remus jumped up at once and pulled the curtain sharply across, the raucous yells died away.

He knelt back down beside her and putting arm round gently said "Come on Dora tell me what happened." His was inviting, friendly sympathetic, so she told him: the whole miserable story of her miserable day. He listened without interrupting her and finally said, fixing his grey eyes on her intently, "Dora, don't ever let anyone make you feel worthless, because you're not. You're clever and brave and funny and you're strong, really strong Dora." When she heard that a bright beaming smile, the first real smile she'd given all day spread across her face. She didn't say anything; she just let his words warm her and lost herself in his eyes. "Don't ever let yourself feel like what you're doing doesn't mean anything." he continued, his voice passionate. "There will be times when you feel frustrated and useless, but don't give up, don't ever give up: because what we're doing is more important that anything else in the world, you know that don't you? We've got to keep fighting." She nodded in agreement and understanding, why was it that he could always lift her mood, keep her going, always knew exactly the right thing to say?

Suddenly he looked at her, as if taking in for the first time that she was damp and shivering. "Dora! You're soaking wet, no wonder you're miserable!" He put a cool dry hand on her forehead and his face creased in a frown "You've got a fever" he said in alarm. "Come on, you need to be in bed, you can stay here for tonight. Let's get you upstairs and out of these wet robes" his voice became brisk and authoritative, he wasn't going to take no for an answer. In fact, Tonks was far to tired to argue, she wanted him to look after her.

Then something miraculous happened. He stood up and then scooped her up as if she was lighter than a baby and began to carry her up the stairs. She gave a cry that was half delight half protest. "Well I didn't think you were in fit state to walk" he said with a soft laugh.

"I wasn't" she replied gently. It was breathtaking how safe she felt in his arms, how much she wanted to stay in them forever. She rested a weary head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, drinking in the feeling. All too soon they arrived in the bedroom Harry and Ron had shared over the summer. He put her, oh so gently, on the bed conjured a pair of pyjamas and left her to get into bed. It was an incredible relief to peel off her wet clothes and wriggle into bed with a sigh.

He returned a few minutes later with a soft knock on the door and a steaming mug of cocoa. She accepted it gratefully and he sat on the end of the bed watching her gulp it down. "Umm," she sighed sleepily "Remus this is delicious"

He laughed and said "Well cocoa making is one of my many hidden talents"

She gave him and impish grin, which showed him she was back to normal "Well, if there all as good as your cocoa I'll have to start sampling them more often." Her eyes sparkled wickedly.

He put a hand on her shoulder and said "You will be alright won't you Dora" as if in need of reassurance.

"Of course" she replied brightly "You know me, Nymphadora Tonks, wonder woman."

He smiled at that and stood up to leave "Goodnight Dora" he said softly, and then leaned in to kiss her cheek. It was that moment, as his lips brushed her skin that she recognised what she had been feeling all along. She was in love. _Oh well_ she thought sleepily, _in love is not such a bad place to be._ "I love you Remus" she murmured as the cocoa carried her off to sleep. His expression as he stood with his hand on the door was unreadable. What he said was "Sweet Dreams Dora." She knew that they would be, they would be full of him.

End of Chapter One

well did you like it? If you did please review and let me know, or if you have something you think I could improve. I welcome constructive criticism. Chapter two "Remus has a bad night" to follow soon.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I do however own four different pink T-Shirts

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter one, I love your feedback. I originally wrote this chapter because I wanted Dora to support Remus for once- that never seems to happen in my fics. Then I realised how well it worked with an earlier thing I wrote about Dora realising she was in love with Remus, so after a little tweaking, "Someone to Watch over Me" was born. In this chapter I refer to Tonks throughout as Dora, unlike in chapter one. This is beacuse it is from Remus' ponit of view, he thinks of her as Dora.Here is the final part. Enjoy the fluff and please review

"_Won't you tell him please to put on some speed?_

_Follow my lead._

_Oh how I need_

_Someone to watch over me"_

Gershwin, Someone to watch over me

"_Oh, simple thing, where have you gone?_

_I'm getting old and I need something to rely on."_

Keane, Somewhere Only We Know

Chapter Two: Remus Has a Bad Night

Remus Lupin had always thought of love as something that happened to other people. After all, who'd fall in love with a werewolf? That was before he met Nymphadora Tonks. She had burst into his life and turned it upside down with her humour, her courage and her kindness. He remembered so clearly the exact moment he had realised that their friendship had turned in to something more for him. It had felt like coming home.

888

It began a week before the October full moon. Remus came down to breakfast feeling stiff and drained, the way he always did close to the transformation. The Wolfsbane potion could do a lot to help, but not everything. He had been strongly inclined just to spend the day in bed, nursing his aches and pains but eventually hunger had driven him up. Generally he thought that was a good thing, he was always afraid that if he let himself stay in bed too long he might never get up at all. He was starving hungry and eager to get to the kitchen. Unfortunately, judging by the loud music issuing from it, someone had got there before him.

Dora was standing by the stove, blasting the radio at full volume and swaying along in time. Her hair, a violent shade of fluorescent green today, and the baggy pyjama bottoms that were halfway down her hips gave the whole image a vaguely bohemian feel. Whatever she was cooking was starting to smell alarmingly good. This surprised him, Dora was usually possessed of the ability to turn any kitchen she entered into a disaster area in five seconds flat. Why was she here and not at her flat so early in the morning? Then with a sudden rush he remembered what had happened last night, her sobbing in the hallway, him carrying her up the stairs, cocoa, _I love you Remus._ Had she really said that? Last night he had ignored it as sleepy ramblings; but he had a feeling he was going to have to face it soon. He wouldn't know what to say if she brought it up. He didn't feel that way about her, _did he?_

He was just about to sneak away unobtrusively when she turned round and saw him hesitating in the door way. A wide smile spread over her face as she saw him- lighting it up. "Wotcher Remus" she called cheerfully, waving an arm extravagantly to beckon him in "Fancy some pancakes? They're about the only thing I can cook, so be appreciative!" He was very hungry, and they did smell very good. He stepped into the kitchen.

"You seem a lot happier this morning" he said walking over to the table and sitting down as she pulled the frying pan of the stove. She grinned cheekily at that.

"I am a lot happier this morning" she answered brightly, brown eyes sparkling.

"Good" he replied firmly. He did enjoy being around, she brightened up a place amazingly, _brightened him up._

"Now" she said her voice full of concentration and her eyes narrowed on the frying pan like a soldier preparing for battle "Let's see if I can make this work" With that she gave a deft flick of her wrist, the frying pan jerked alarmingly and the still sizzling pancake flew up into the air. Remus panicked slightly, he didn't much fancy having to clean up the gooey mess, but he should have had more faith. The pancake rotated in a perfect circle and landed, dead on centre back in the frying pan. Dora gave a cry of triumph and returned the pan to the stove. Remus applauded enthusiastically, Dora bowed.

He watched her cooking, bending busily over the stove. It was amazing how comfortable she seemed, how surprisingly graceful. Finally she brought the finished pancake over to the table. "Dora that smells amazing" he said, hunger pangs in his stomach beginning to make themselves felt. She shrugged, dismissing the compliment.

"My dad taught me how to make them when I was eight" she told him casually. He nodded. "I can only make one at a time, so why don't we share this one?" she suggested with a friendly smile. The sticky sugary mass disappeared rather quickly after that.

Dora sat back in her chair, licking the sugar off her lips, watching him. A worried crease appeared on her forehead. She saw how tired he looked, the purple shadows under his eyes, his stiff movements. "Are you alright" she said finally, concern washing through her words.

He shrugged. "I'm fine really;" trying to sound casual "It's just that the full moon's so close now". A pained expression flashed across her face. She nodded without saying anything. They sat in silence, the cheerful mood suddenly gone. Dora sat dropped in her chair, deep in thought.

Finally she looked up, fixing her brown eyes on his face, searching it. "We've never really talked about it have we, your lycanthropy I mean." she said slowly. He shrugged again, slightly defensively. "Why not?" she asked. He didn't know what to say. What he thought was _No; I want to keep you away from that, you the only person who sees me for myself, not my condition or my past or what use I can be. I don't want to lose you. So no, we haven't talked about it Dora. _He just tightened his lips and kept silent.

"What's it like?" she asked, her voice quiet, still fixing him with that penetrating, thoughtful stare.

"Not pleasant," he replied, his voice tight, refusing to meet her eyes. In his head he was screaming _No, not this, not from you, anyone else, but not you._ All the time another little voice was saying curiously, _Sirius and James both asked tonnes of questions, why is she different?_ He ignored it, afraid of what the answer would be.

"Dora," he began trying to keep his voice steady "It's a part of my life that I want to keep separate from this, us. It's something I just have to deal with, alone." He still refused to look at her.

She thrilled at the word, _us_, did it mean what she so desperately hoped it meant? "Remus," she said quietly, looking at him with burning eyes "You don't ever have to alone, you know that don't you." He gave her a tight smile, then got up and walked away, his heart racing.

888

He avoided her over the next few days, her effect on him was _disturbing _to say the least, and he wasn't yet sure how he was going to deal with it. He hardly knew what he felt, except that it frightened him. She tried to get him alone over the next few days, to continue their conversation but he always found excuses. He could tell she was hurt by his behaviour, and wished he could change that. All in all he was in a panic of confusion, missing her so much it hurt, but afraid. The full moon loomed.

888

The day of the full moon arrived, bringing with it all the usual aches and fear. As usual his exhaustion, and his apprehension increased as the day wore on. He generally kept to his room on the day of the transformation and Sirius would bring him the last dose of Wolfsbane potion at about lunchtime. Today however something changed, when the door swung gently open at mid day it was Dora, not Sirius in the doorway with the smoking mug of potion. There was a pained expression on her face as she stood there, hesitant, nervous, watching him. "Dora, I didn't expect…"he said nervously, his voice husky.

She gave him a nervous smile "You wouldn't come to me, so I came to you" she said quietly. She put the potion on the bedside table, sat down on the bed and looked at him. "You look awful" she said, with the ghost of her usual cheerful tone. He laughed; there was no mirth in it. "Remus" she began, her hands twisting in her lap "Remus, I need you to let me in, to let me help you. I'm not going to run away from your condition, I'm not going to abandon you." She looked up at him again, her eyes passionate "Remus, I meant what I said that night," she told him in a low voice. He didn't say anything, though he thought his heart bight burst from his ribs. She sighed in frustration.

"You should drink that" she said nodding towards the potion, which was looming menacingly. He nodded, picked it up and drained it, wincing at the vicious bitterness of the taste, and gasped slightly. She bit her lip as she watched him. He hated the expression in her eyes, it was full of _pity. _He didn't want her pity; he wanted…_What did he want?_ Finally she sighed and reaching out her hand, rested it on his arm "Remus, I want to part of your life, all of your life. If you can't hear that when I say it, I guess I'll have to show you. So, I'm going to be right outside this door tonight, all night. I'm going to show you that I'm here for you through everything, that I'm not afraid."

He looked up in amazement, respect for her kindling inside him. "Dora," he said softly "you don't have to do that"

"I think I do" she said quietly "Just remember. I'll be there all night, on the other side of the door." With that she got up and left. A torrent of confused thoughts raced through his mind.

888

The day wore on; the sun began to set the full moon to rise. At about 7 o'clock he locked the door. He could feel the first tremors of the transformation. The he heard shuffling on the other side of the door he had just locked and a low voice whisper "I'm here, just like I promised Remus" she said. Dora was here, just on the other side of the door. That thought was strangely comforting, even in the agony of transformation. He thought of her, and then knew nothing at all.

888

She sat on the floor outside the door, listening to him scream. Tears ran silently down her face. She could hardly bear it, but knew she had to stay here, show him the he could trust her, even though so many people had let him down. Every moan of pain went through her like a knife, she felt everything with him. Until tonight she'd never realised what being a werewolf really meant. The more she understood, the more she respected and loved him. She hadn't known till now how brave he was. She knew she would have to be brave as well. The screams turned into savage inhuman howls and snarls, _that's still Remus in there _she told herself fiercely. There was a window across the hall, a great ghostly door to the outside world, the night. The full moon hung in the black sky, shining white, impassive and _beautiful._ He would never know how beautiful it was, that sent a sharp pain through her heart. She watched as the hours past, painful and slow. She fought tiredness and misery. The moon was alone the sky; you couldn't see stars in London. Perhaps it was just as lonely as he was. Well she wasn't going to let him be lonely any more. Finally tentative streaks of pink crept into her view. She realised the sun was rising. The night was over. Exhausted, relieved, she closed her eyes and let herself sleep.

888

He woke as himself at about midday, pain shot through him; he could barely move his stiff limbs. The Wolfsbane potion stopped most of the serious wounds, but not the cramps and aches. Stretching he began to move each limb slowly, getting used to them again. Then he got up quickly and began to dress. He had learned to dress and get up quickly after the transformation, if he left it to long he was always afraid of giving in to the temptation to stay in bed forever. He unlocked the door and pushed it open, stepping out into the corridor and the human world.

Dora was the first thing he saw. She lay in a messy heap on the floor in the corridor. He smiled slowly. So she really had stayed with him all night, hadn't abandoned him. She looked somehow smaller as lay asleep, her hair ruffled and wild, snoring gently. He sat down beside her and watched her sleep. _She hadn't left him. _It was at that moment as he watched her that he realised, what he felt for Dora was love. Strange how simple everything became when he let himself see that. Her crumpled body, her mad spirit, they were…_home._ "I love you too Dora" he whispered softly, pushing her hair back from her forehead.

Her eyelashes flickered and she opened her eyes. She saw him, she smiled. "Good morning Remus" she whispered groggily "It's a new day."

THE END

So that's the end, I hope you enjoyed it. Please review and let me know


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